The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-12-08
THE WELL OF BETHLEHEM.
Discourse by Rev. DR.. Talmage at the
Tabernacle.

BROOKLYN, Nov. 27.-This morning at
the Tabernacle, after explaining appropri-
ate passages OF Scripture, the Rev. L. De
Witt Talmage, D. D., gave out the follow
ing hymn, that was sung by the congrega-
ton with great heartiness:
Buried in sorrow and in sin
At hells dark door we lay;
But we arise by grace divine,
To see glorious day.
The subject of the sermon was "Thirst
in Cavern" and the text; "Oh that one
would give me drink of the water of the Well
Of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"-Il.
Samuel xiii. Is.
War, always distressing, is especially
ruinous in harvest time. When the crops
are all ready for the sickle, to have them
troddeu down by cavalry horses and heavy
supply trains outlying the fields is enough
to make any mans heart sick. When the
last great war broke out in Europe, and
France and Germany were coming into
horrid collision, l rode across their golden
harvests and saw the tents pitched and the
trenches dug in the very midst of the ripe
fields, the long scythe OF battle sharpening
10 NOW down harvests of men in great win
rows of the dead. 1t was at this season of
harvest that the army of the Philistines
came down upon Bethlehem. Hark to the
clamor of their voices, the neighing of
their chargers, the blare of their trumpets,
and the clash of their shields!
Let David and his men fall back! The
Lords host sometimes loses the day. But
David knew where to hide. He had been
brought up in that country. Boys are in
quisitiVe, and they know all about the
region where they were born and brought
up. If you should go back to the old
homestead, you could with your own eyes
shut, find your way to the meadow, or the
orchard, or the hill back of the house, with
which you were familiar thirty or forty
years ago. So David knew the cave Of
Adullam. Perhaps, in his boyhood days,
he had played "hide and seek" with his COM
rades all about the old cave; and though
others might not have known it, David did.
Travellers say there is only one way of get
ting into the cave, and that is by very
narrow path; but David was stout, and
steady headed, and steady nerved; and 80,
with his three brave staff officers, he goes
along that path, finds his way into the
cave, sits down, looks around at the roof
and the dark passages of the mountain,
feels very weary with forced march, aud
water he must have or die. do not know
but there may have been drops trickling
down the side of the cavern or that there
may have been some water in the goat
skin slung to his girdle, but that was not
what he wanted. He wanted deep, full,
cold drink, such as q man gets only out OF
an old we'll with moss ss-covered bucket.
David remembered that very near that cave
pf AIullam there was such well as that,
a we'll to which he used to go in boyhood
the we'll of Bethlehem; and he almost
| imagines that he can hear the liquid plash
of that we'll, and his parched tongue moves
through his hot lips as he says: "Oh, thai
one would give me dI,.2... Of the water OF
the we'll of Bethlehem, which is by the
gate"
1t was no sooner said than done. The
three brave staff officers bound to theii
| feet and start. Brave soldiers will take
even hint from their commander. Bu
between them and the well lay the host ol
the Philistines; and what could three mer
| do with great army2 Yet where there is
q will there is way, and, with their swords
| slashing this way and that, they make theil
path to the we'll. While the PhiIistinef
are amased at the seeming foolhardiness oi
these three men, and cannot make up theil
MI .ls exactly what it means, the three
men have come to the we'll. They droI
the bucket. They bring up the water
| They pour it in the pail, and then start fo
the cave. "Stop them!" cried the Phil
| istines. "Clip them with swords! Stall
them with your spears, Stop those three
men!" Too late! They have got around
the hill. The hot rocks are splashed with
the overhowing water from the vessel as il
is carried up the cliffs. The three men &c
| along the dangerous path, and with cheeks
| flushed with the excitement and all out ol
breath in their haste they fling thei
swords, red with the skirmish, to the side
| of the cave, and cry out to David, "There
captain of the host, is what you wanted, {
drink of the we'll OF Bethlehem, which il
| by the gate.
A text is no use to me unless I can fint
Christ in it, and unless can bring Cos
| pei out of these words, that will arouse
and comfort, and bless, 1 shall wish hat
never seen them; for your time would bt
wasted, and against my soul the dark re-
cord would be made that this day | stood
before great audience of SHINING, suffer
ing and dying men, and told them of NJ
rescue. BY the cross of the Son of God
| by the throne of the eternal judgment, tina
shall not be! May the Lord Jesus help mt
| to tell you the truth to-day!
You know that carrier pigeons havt
| sometimes letters tied under thew ing, anC
| they fly hundreds of miles-100 miles al
| hour-carrying message. So 1 have
| thought 1 would like to have it now. Oh
| heavenly Dove bring under thy wing to-
| day, to my soul and to the souls of this
people, some message of light, and love
| and peace!
1t is not an unusual thing to see people
gather around well in summertime. The
/ husbandman puts down his cradle OF tn
we'll curb. The builder puts down hi
trowel. The traveller puts down his pack
Then one draws the water for all the rest
himself taking the very last. The cup i
passed around, and the fires of thirst ar
| put out; the traveller starts on his Journey
and the workman takes up his burden.
My friends, we come to-day around tn
Gospel we'll. We put forth our. pack o
burdens and our implements of toll. On,
man must draw the water for those VIII
have gathered around the we'll. / will tr,
and draw the water to-day; and if, after
have poured out from this living fountain
for your soul, just taste of it myself, yol
will not begrudge me q drink from tn,
| water of the well of Bethlehem, which il
by the gate"
This Gospel well, like the well spoken O.
in the text, is we'll of Bethlehem. Davit
had known hundreds OF wells of water, but
he wanted to drink from that particula
one, and he thought nothing could slakt
his thirst like that. And unless your SOU
and mine get access to the fountain
open for sin and uncleanness we must die
That fountain is the we'll of Bethlehem. L
was dug in the night. 1t was dug by the
light of lantern-the star that hung dowr
over the manger. 1t was dug not at the
| gate of Cesar's palaces, not in the park Of
| Jerusalem bargainmaker. 1t was dug il
a barn. The camels lifted their weary
heads to listen as the work went on. The
| shepherds, unable to sleep, because the
heavens were filled with bands of music
came down to see the opening of the we'll
The angels of God, at the first gush of the
living water, dipped their chalices of JOY